http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12475/ ... gp-arrival
2016 MEXICAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS
Arguably the most boring race of 2016 produced some of the most exciting (and penalty-filled!) closing laps of any. The order of the first two was never in any real doubt from the time the smoke of Lewis Hamilton's locked tyres cleared to reveal his teammate running off track to avoid being squeezed by third-placed Max Verstappen. The third place, however, proved a topic of rather a lot more contention. First, Max Verstappen crossed the line in third and had the place stripped for gaining an advantage by running off track, handing the position to the ecstatic Sebastian Vettel. But the confetti had scarce settled before rumors began to emerge of a penalty for Vettel himself, perhaps relating to his weaving under braking, and perhaps related to his suggestion that his team tell race director Charlie Whiting to '(bleep) off'. And so it proved, with the German being told to (bleep) off himself and move down to 5th position, elevating the Honey Badger to his place. Three entrants correctly picked the entire podium; congratulations to
Herb,
icemanjee1 and the absent
Ruste13 for nailing the perfect podium! For two of them, this result has allowed their feeble title hopes to remain alive for another round.
Condolences are also in order for all the people who endured the emotional roller-coaster of believing they had secured a perfect podium at some point in the race, including
Exediron,
Mayhem,
Black_Flag_11,
mcdo and
Lotus49.
Race Result
~ 1. Herb
+14 Points
~ 1. Icemanjee1
+14 Points
~ 1. Ruste13
+14 Points
~ 4. Black_Flag_11
+8 Points
~ 4. Exediron
+8 Points
~ 4. Fountoukos13
+8 Points
~ 4. Jezza13
+8 Points
~ 4. Lotus49
+8 Points
~ 4. Mayhem
+8 Points
~ 4. mcdo
+8 Points
~ 4. Remmirath
+8 Points
~ 12. cm97
+5 Points
~ 12. theferret
+5 Points
~ 14. Bentrovato
+1 Point
~ 14. Jenson's Understeer
+1 Point
~ 16. robins13
+0 Points
~ 16. TypingChicane
+0 Points
~ 18. GPG
DNS
~ 18. Saz
DNS
~ 18. Thrash13
DNS
For a second race running, scoring was on average quite high, meaning opportunity for those who scored well, and despair for those who did not.
Among those who failed to score was championship leader robins13, whose lead has now been whittled to 16 points with two races to go and will no doubt be desperate to put in a strong result in Brazil to prevent a historic choke at the finale. Black_Flag_11, who has emerged late in the season as robins13's most consistent challenger, remains the closest behind, but is now joined by Herb and Icemanjee1, both of whom benefit from perfect podiums to make up a sizable number of places - 3 for Herb, and a full 6 for Icemanjee1. Immediately behind them, and nearly last of those still in theoretical contention for the title, last year's only remaining title contenders Exediron and Mayhem remain separated only by tiebreakers as they struggle to escape final elimination.
Spare a thought for Jenson's Understeer, who fails to put up more than a point for the second race in a row and has now been eliminated from championship contention, falling to 9th place in the process.
Individual Standings - Round Nineteen
1. robins13 --
95 Points
2. Black_Flag_11 --
79 Points
3. Herb --
75 Points
4. Icemanjee1 --
72 Points
5. Exediron --
70 Points (2 Perfect Podiums, 5 Wins)
6. Mayhem --
70 Points (2 Perfect Podiums, 3 Wins)
7. mcdo --
68 Points
8. Fountoukos13 -- 67 Points
9. Jenson's Understeer -- 66 Points
10. cm97 -- 64 Points
11. Remmirath -- 58 Points
12. Lotus49 -- 56 Points
13. theferret -- 54 Points
14. Saz -- 53 Points (5 Wins)
15. TypingChicane -- 53 Points (2 Wins)
16. Bentrovato -- 49 Points (1 Perfect Podium)
17. GPG -- 49 Points (0 Perfect Podiums, 3 Wins)
18. Jezza13 -- 49 Points (0 Perfect Podiums, 1 Win)
19. Ruste13 -- 34 Points
20. Thrash13 -- 14 Points
With only two races to go, the number of entrants in contention for the championship has dropped off dramatically. With 28 points left in play, the top seven in the standings could all take the title at this point; Fountoukos13, who is exactly 28 points behind, could only tie robins13 and would lose on tiebreakers even with two additional perfect podiums, and is thus out of contention.
Team Standings - Round Nineteen
1. Fire & Ice (robins13 & Saz) --
148 Points
2. Mind Your Manors (Black_Flag_11 & Fountoukos13) --
146 Points
3. Multi21 (Icemanjee1 & cm97) --
136 Points (3 Perfect Podiums)
4. Understeer = Mayhem (Jenson's Understeer & Mayhem) --
136 Points (2 Perfect Podiums)
5. McLotus (Lotus49 & mcdo) --
124 Points
6. No Limit Excedrin Racing (Exediron & GPG) --
119 Points
7. Crash & Learn (Remmirath & TypingChicane) --
111 Points
8. Lucky 13 Racing (Herb & Jezza13) --
107 Points
9. Redline GP (Bentrovato & Ruste13) -- 83 Points
In the teams championship things are much more competitive, and heating up fast; a double no-score by Fire & Ice has left the once-dominant team very vulnerable indeed, with only a 2 point lead over second-placed Mind Your Manors; their hopes of securing the single/team double will be heavily reliant on #2 driver Saz actually turning up for the remaining two rounds. A few points back, Multi21 and Understeer = Mayhem swap positions once more in the battle for 3rd place; this fight still looks extremely tight, and may go all the way to the final lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi.
One fight that does appear to be over is that for 5th place, where defending champions No Limit Excedrin Racing lose out to McLotus, and look increasingly under threat from the rookie teams as well on account of their current status as a one-driver team. Like Fire & Ice, they will surely be hoping for the return of their second driver if they are to stave off the assault of Crash & Learn, currently next in line to kick the former champs; however, they must be careful in turn to watch their backs for the other rookie team, as Lucky 13 have been arguably the hottest team over the last few rounds.
At the back, Redline GP picks up a much-needed Perfect Podium from their suddenly red-hot #2 driver Ruste13, but sadly it's too little, too late - they're officially the first team to be out of mathematical contention for the team championship.
Championship Clinching Scenarios for Brazil
To clinch the individual title, robins13 needs to leave Brazil with a 15-point lead over the nearest challenger. This will happen if:
a) robins13 scores a perfect podium, irrespective of any other results.
b) robins13 scores 6 points and neither Black_Flag_11 or Herb scores a perfect podium.
c) robins13 scores 5 points, Black_Flag_11 does not score 8 points or more and Herb does not score a perfect podium.
d) robins13 scores 3 or 4 points, Black_Flag_11 does not score 6 points or more, and neither Herb or Icemanjee1 scores a perfect podium.
robins13 can also still clinch the championship by scoring a single point or less, provided Black_Flag_11 scores the same, Herb scores 5 or less, Icemanjee scores 8 or less and nobody else scores a perfect podium.
The team championship can only be clinched if Fire & Ice take a double perfect podium in Brazil while Mind Your Manors scores a total of 2 points or less.
![:]](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif "Grin"){kind=icon}
